Fort Hood-area officials worried over voting instructions sent to soldiers

Posted: October 23, 2012 - 8:15am

ASSOCIATED PRESS

BELTON, Texas — Election officials in the county where Fort Hood is headquartered say they’re worried the Army is giving soldiers incomplete instructions for voting by mail.

In an Oct. 15 email, Col. Jason Evans, the Army’s adjutant general, urged soldiers to vote by completing and mailing in a Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot. Those ballots are available online.

However, Bell County Clerk Shelley Coston told the Temple Daily Telegram that those instructions skip a step required by Texas law. That requires requesting a ballot in writing by mail. Coston said that if soldiers cast ballots that can’t be matched with a request, they won’t be counted.

Requests by mail for ballots must be received by Oct. 30. Requests received after that date, regardless of postmarked date, won’t be accepted.